You Can't Have It!

You Can’t Have It!

This is an open letter to the world. A world that wants a one-size-fits-all society and people told how to think. A world that would have us feel only when it suits itself and wants us to be good little consumers. A world that wants to tear itself apart at our expense and by our own hands. A world at war in multiple places around the globe. Well, I have four simple words for you world.

You Can’t Have It.

You cannot have our hope. We believe. We believe that something out there greater than ourselves exists. We have hope in humanity. We have hope that there is still more good than evil out there and that good will ultimately prevail.

You can’t have our morals. Right and wrong still exist. Sure, the grey gets wider by the day, but there is still black and white when it comes to right and wrong. Our conscious knows the difference. Speaking of consciousness, you can’t have that either! When people listen to it, when they follow it, good usually wins.

You definitely cannot have our children’s innocence. Video games desensitize, entertainers lower moral values and even cartoons carry more polarizing messages than ever before, but no, no, no, you can’t have that either. Our children are ours. There are predators out there looking to exploit them. There are wolves. We need more sheepdogs. We will raise them. We will teach them about listening to their conscious, about right and wrong, and we will teach them how to build and use their own moral compasses.

You cannot have our small, locally owned businesses. Big box may have won a few battles, but local will win the war. We will shop local. We will spend local, and we will support local. You don’t get that either.

You can’t have my vote until I am informed with self-study. Being told who is a bully, or who is senile or who is corrupt is for me to figure out, not for you to tell me. We are intelligent people, and we will learn who is the best to lead us. Speaking of intelligence.

You can’t have our educational system either. We always talk about front-line workers and who are our first responders, but teachers are the backbone of our society. Leave them alone say they can do what they love, teaching our children. We entrust them with the education of our young, innocent minds, so don’t even think about sinking your claws into them. You can’t have them.

Here is what you can have dear world. You have our sincere desire to clean you up and leave you better than we found you. We will do our best to stop poisoning you for future generations.

You can also have our humble gratitude for continuing to spin around our little star in our little corner of the universe. We may venture to other planets in our children’s lifetimes, but you will always be our home.

That’s it. Stop trying to take the rest. We get it wrong a lot of the time, but you can’t have our hope, belief, goodness, morals, consciouses, innocence, moral compasses, local businesses, votes, or educational system. You can’t have any of it.

Unless we quit trying and give it to you.

My friends, I believe in you. I believe in us all. I have supreme belief that we are smart enough, moral enough, decent enough, determined enough, kind enough, and up enough to not let them take it from us. Fight the war against evil with kindness. We need to fight by promoting kindness. By promoting decency. We need to be the people we always hoped we would be. Be that person for one day. One day can change the world. Maybe, just maybe, we will get greedy for it and try it for two days, then three. If we can do that, we can get our world back. I for one will go down swinging with all the kindness and joy I can muster. Advocate for more joy. The only thing we have to lose is everything.

Steve Gwisdalla is a Dexter Resident and the Owner, Chief Hope Officer, and Vice President of Star Wishing at BetterPlace Consulting. Kindness can win. He believes. Do you?